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Battle of El Dorado
Calm before a Storm Legs had sailed ahead of the remainder of her fleet upon her own flagship, Justice, a massive, island sized fortress on the seas. Despite only being a single ship, it required virtually an army for it to function properly. On board, there were dozens of shipwrights and engineers scurrying around to ensure that it would run at max efficiency, and thousands of men on-board to man the hundreds of cannons and weaponry that constituted it. Still, this was common practice. She would often do damage with her flagship, and then send in her fleet so secure the rest, when she was directly involved. A majority of the time, it was Wolfgang’s job to travel around the world, conquering in her name, but now, he was off doing some great deeds in her name…or maybe not. He was a tad bit uncontrollable. Loveable, but uncontrollable. Legs sat up from her seat, pulling herself from her slumber. Such was the common practice before a battle. She often ate and napped to conserve her energy. It was a practice she was used to. She learned It as a child on Wano and retained the habit even into her early fifties. She stood up, stepped into her elevator at the end of her office, and waited as she was carried ten stories down onto the deck of the ship, where her executives of the crew waited patiently. She could always pick them out. While a majority of her army ran around desperately preparing for battle, they were seen waiting, smiling, and enjoying the peace before the storm. She stepped from the elevator, approaching the circle of people that awaited her: Wynn Erin, Jack Frost, Thatch Vincent, Zahara Annabeth, and Draco D. Indiana. “Erin,” Legs begun formally, “I want to thank you for joining us on this expedition today. You’re going to be pivotal to our plans when we reach El Dorado in an hour.” She turned to face the remainder of her executives, smiling as she did so. “Which, I hope you all remember, it to stay on the boat until I signal otherwise. We want to survey things out first, and there is no doubt that they’ve seen us coming. Suggestions, questions, concerns?” Erin smiled at Legs. "Not a problem at all, I'm happy to disrupt the plans of the World Government. If I recall correctly this is a colony of Marines and World Government employed workers who mine gold for the Celestial Dragons right." He spoke. "That's what she said to ya isn't it." Thatch sighed, twirling a sleek dagger in his hand. "Money comes out and the Celestial Dragons snatch get their pay to foster their vicious slave cycle again and again." Thatch sighed. He didn't really care about anyone on the island or their reasoning for whatever they were doing. He just wanted some new experimental data. "Precisely why we're doing all this, kill those World Government bastards and take those shitty Celestial Dragons gold." Erin cheered. He was quite excited for all of this. Getting the government back for all the terrible things they'd done and an island full of terrible people getting shut down all in one blow. "So Legs, do you really think we need all this for an island? I feel like most of us could take them down on our own. Regardless though I'm just ready to kill something and go back to my lab." Thatch spoke before turning to Annabeth. "How've you been recently, stilling working as hard as ever for the health of our crew?" His tone was much more cheery when speaking to her. Jack seemed to have been in his own world for a moment. His mind wandering off as if it were a stray boat out at sea. On that boat, were the thoughts and memories of a little loud mouth brat he'd seemingly found himself tagged with more than often. He was, Buster D. Zack, adoptive son of Legs herself. All Jack could hear in his head was, "You long-braided jackass." Over and over again like a broken record. Normal, one would find themselves annoyed but Jack seemed to have been pleased with it, as just the thought caused him to close his eyes as if it were some sort of good tasting food. "That damned brat." He thought to himself, pausing to think about all the trials they'd faced together. "You better not die before I can see you again, Zack." The opening of the elevator was like a signal to snap back to reality. "Erin hasn't been around for that long, Captain Legs," As he spoke, a cold mist left his mouth capable of causing those on the ship to shiver, "And I most certainly choose not to belittle his skills. But, don't you think it's a bit too early to trust him with pivotal duties? Again, this is by no means any disrespect to you, Erin." A cup of tea at hand, Draco D. Indiana took a ship of it, before speaking, "As powerful together as we all are, Vincent." He mused, eyes closed. "Don't let it get to your head, lad." Another sip. Unlike Legs, Indiana had a different ritual before any battle, and that was to drink just any kind of tea. He paid no mind at all towards Legs' comment to this Erin lad, after all, Indiana had never been one to warn Legs, he had never been one to feel jealous. Indiana trusted that Legs knew her own matters. For someone who had lived so long with Legs, such as Indiana, he could very well say that words weren't everything. "Chill a bit, Jack-chan." Indiana opened one eye to glance at his companion, cup close to his mouth as he blew some air into it. "We have built several schemes for this attack, and the important is remembering that we are together in this, hmmmm," Indiana smiled, shrugging slightly. "Though, El Dorado certainly is a nice place! I'm looking forward to delving into it whenever possible." "Yes, Indiana!" Legs announced, "Not the El Dorado thing, but about the scheme bit. Look, Jack. Thanks for your concern, I expect no less, but Erin is a trusted comrade of Thatch, and if Thatch trust him with his life I trust him with mine. Plus, even if he does betray us, Annabeth will help us out. Her job is to keep us alive after all," Legs joked, laughing following her statement. Anna sat back, her expression bored. She was of the same mind that they brought far too many for a simple island. She shrugged. "I've been well; busy coordinating health networks and navigating tensions between ethnic/traditional medicine and the practice of more modern remedies. Progress is being made though," Anna responded. She smirked. "I could always attach you to a tree. You're tall enough to be one anyway." Legs chuckled at Annabeth's joke. "Yes, I guess that is true. But, let me be serious for like two minutes." Legs scratched her throat to verbalize her transition. "To clarify, there is no room for failure; I will not tolerate it here. This island is important, moreso than important, it is essential in our empire's success. The gold reservoirs on this place almost dwarf the remaining reservoir of gold we have available in our Empire, and as we continue to grow, we need to acquire more resources. To hire more men, doctors, shipwrights, to maintain our nation, we require more funds, and this one island can supply us enough money to live as Kings and Queens for decades," Legs continued to speak. "This is an opportunity to depower our enemies and empower ourselves. Do I make myself clear in that failure will have severe repercussions?" Jack turned his attention to Indiana, who'd been doing his usual tea sipping. At times, his ritual reminded him of woman gossip, but he knew Indiana was far from that gender in both appearance and mindset. "If the Captain states this is okay, then I will 'chill'." Another one of his arctic fogs left his mouth, emphasizing the word "chill". After his brief exchange with Indiana, Legs spoke and made herself heard among the deck of the ship. Following her declaration, Jack got on one knee and held his head down. Honoring not only her presence but her words. "Yes. I owe you my life, Captain." He responded, thinking back to when she saved him from nearly being imprisoned in Impel Down. "Would suck to be that tree." Erin laughed, he could understand their weariness. "But as Legs said I'm here to help, taking out the World Government is something I'm always up for." He stated, giving a nod to the rest of the crew. He was excited to get things underway. "Excellent as always Annabeth." Thatch hummed happily as he turned his attention to Legs. Her words were firm and powerful, befitting of a Yonko such as herself. "Not often that you let me stretch my Legs, this really is important isn't it. I'm assuming no room for failure means my restrictions are gone right Legs?" Thatch laughed aloud, cracking his neck sickeningly. "I'm really excited for this now." "Indeed, all restrictions are lifted," Legs made clear. "We will fulfill our mission by any means necessary." Annabeth nods, her bored expression disappearing. "That goes without saying. We're a Yonko led crew; we're not losing to those brats. Not now, not ever," she stated, cracking her fingers. Marine Emergency Call About Two Hours Before Legs Woke Up Within a very large cabin, Solomon laid in a bed searching out the window that gave a circular view of the sea. It had just been less than twenty-four hours since he’d gotten into his scuffle with MuuMuu, one of Legs’ own Yokai. Solomon’s body still ached from the kick he’d taken from the woman and the metal he’d been provided to eat, seemed to have been working slower than usual. Being bedridden wasn’t really his style and quite frankly it was boring. Though, it ordered, from Roselia and surely getting a pummeling from her was far worse than the battle he’d just fought, or so he’d thought. Leaping from the bed, he rushed to the door and slowly opened it, trying his best to keep it from making any noises so that it wouldn’t alter anyone. Once it opened wide enough he crept from behind it and slowly made his way towards the deck of the Marine vessel. He looked to the back of the ship he’d been standing on and noticed another Marine ship following behind them. The second ship had a giant following behind it, appear as tho it had been pushing the ship along. "Oh right!" He thought, slowly beginning to piece things together. “We couldn’t just drag that damn box, it’d take fore-” "Commodore Gintaka." His name being called cut him from his own thoughts and as he would turn around he’d notice Roselia standing behind him. "I thought I told you, stay in bed." Each word sounded more intimidating than the last and once she finished, she held her fist up and coated it with a layer of lava. Solomon's eyes began to drift in opposite directions, then he took a deep breath. “I’m the Commodore, you are the Captain. I do, what I want!" Roselia's eyes widened, she’d been surprised by his statement nonetheless. "Good you know that, now as I said, should you be in bed?” The lava from her fist slowly began to travel along her body. PURUPURUPURUPURU Roselia and Solomon looked at each other, both trying to pinpoint the location of the ringing Den Den Mushi. PURUPURUPURUPURU PURUPURUPURUPURU Solomon began to frantically pat his body down. From around the side of a ship, a Marine soldier came running holding a Den Den Mushi in his hand. The snail had long silver hair with a white Den Den Mushi attached to its side. Solomon quickly reached for the snail and picked it up as if he’d known who’d it been. “Fur, we have a problem…” The voice said without even introducing itself. After a few minutes, Solomon hung the Den Den Mushi up and let out a deep sigh. "An order from Byakko…" With a deep breath, he continued. "I want you to get on the ship behind and head for Geror Island. I’ll meet you there once I’m done with his orders." Roselia simply nodded and turned around headed towards the back of the boat. A million thoughts ran through her head, but she knew when the word "Byakko" left his mouth, she knew not to question any of Solomon’s commands. Lifting his wrist to his mouth, Solomon revealed a small Den Den Mushi. "Calling all nearby Marine forces." His voice more stern and stiff than usual. "This is Commodore Gintaka, turn your ships towards the direction of El Dorado, we have been ordered to head there immediately. Direct orders from Byakko himself!" ---- At the coast of the island, outside of the temporary base of the Marines about ten Marine soldiers gathered with Solomon and another unidentified Marine soldier stated to his side. A few big names gathered; Ernest, Bambina, Marishi Sol, Peg Nez, Esposito X. Marco, Fairisles Margaret, Ferrothorn Braxton, Riz, and Cigar Rette. Solomon reached to his side and placed his hand on the shoulder of the man standing next to him. "This here is Captain Gabaldon Guy. He's the man who's in charge of El Dorado. I'll let him give you all a very short debriefing, then we'll go over a strategy." "As the Commodore stated, I am Guy. Just over an hour ago one of the soldiers here spotted a Pirate ship that flew a flag the entire world knows. It belonged to the Black Widow Pirates. Recently, Legs has been at odds with the King of this city, trying to get her hands on the Goldmine this city houses. We believe Legs' men are on their way here to conqueror El Dorado." Guy wiped sweat from his forehead and took a deep breath, before continuing on. "If this is true, the manpower we have on this island will not be enough to defend against even two of Legs' commanders." Solomon surveyed all of the Marine members there, then placed his hand on his chin as though he'd been thinking about something. "I know you've heard this plenty of times, but the Marines formation is looking pretty shitty. We are in a crisis, I'm surprised that we were even able to gather these big names that we did." He looked around the circle but specifically at Ernest who's currently been holding the highest rank. "Byakko said he'd send reinforcements as soon as possible, but even then it'd take more than twenty-four hours before they'd reach here." Solomon thought back to the fact that while he'd be able to fight, any fatal hit to his abdomen would probably put him out of commission for a while. "We'd be fighting a fight for over twenty-four hours against opponents we have yet to face." While this meaningless conversation was going on, Nez was down to what really matters. She excitedly scooped samples of the soil into small tubes and capped them before moving to an area with the exact same dirt and doing the same. Various machines and contraptions beeped happily in reaction to her surroundings, and the woman overall appeared to be much more interested in running tests than anything else. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" A yell filled everyone's ears, as none other than Bambina flexed his muscles out of his signature Kimono, the place shaking alongside him. "Tis' fresh air!" He didn't give much thought to Gabaldon Guy's introduction, he already knew him. Sharing a glance at the scientist Nez, Bambina snickered, mouth thin, such a crazy woman. "The Yonko again, huh?" Bambina scratched his long beard, one eyebrow cocking up. They seemed to have been too busy nowadays, though, admittedly, some of them seemed to be hanging up on a fourth. "I fought it off with tis' guy las' week 'n all... Payback, it was, the lad that constantly kicks Bigdwun-boy's arse!" As he said so, Bambina cupped his stomach and torso, many sore spots still present from that fight. In truth, he didn't know if he were truly at his peak for El Dorado. The entire time they two men had been talking, Lieutenant Commander Rette had been trying his best to light a fire to his cigar as secretly as he could. He slowly rolled his hand down the flint wheel of the light but kept falling short of being able to have his light create a strong enough light to give fire to his cigar. "Shit." He thought to himself, looking to his left and right making sure he didn't become the center of attention. He'd gotten fed up with not being able to light it and nearly wanted to bang his head into the ground he stood on. Solomon took a slight pause between his words and this was Rette's chance. Cuffing his hands over his nose, mostly trying to hide his lighter and cigar, he let out a powerful sneeze. "Achooo!" His sneeze and the lighter's flicker spark in perfect unison, giving light and sparking the cigar. He took a large puff of his cigar and held the smoke in for a few seconds, then exhaled and let it all flow out of his mouth. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he slightly began to rock his body as though he'd been listening to a song. Removing the cigar from his mouth, he then held it in his fingers and began to hunch his shoulders while continuing to rock. "Oooooohhhh, weeeee..." He hummed continuing to dance. It wasn't long before Rette had begun snapping his fingers while continuing to dance and hum. "Sheeee's my maaaaaaaaaaiiiiiiin thang." By now he'd added swaying left and right into his dance. Even though words were coming out, he managed to keep them low enough so that no one could hear. "She makes me feel alright. She makes my heart siiiiiiiiing." The Commodore in the center of the circle had his eyes perched on Nez then on Rette. "Okay, two things here. What in the, what is she doing? And second, what was that, Rette? I'm not about to ignore that? Were you, dancing?" Solomon asked, directing his questions to both Nez and Rette. To those around, Rette would appear as though he'd been in his own little world. "Cloud nine baby.. cloud fuckin' nine." He thought to himself, finally snapping back to reality. "Did ya' say twenty-four damned hours? Got damn, I ain't bring enough wee-.... I ain't bring enough Cigars for this shit. Regardless.." Just as he'd respond, Bambina let out a screech. "I hope. This idiot. Doesn't blow. My high." He thought to himself. Nez happily planted a small pencil in the ground to mark a specific position for some future use. She then watched in abject horror as Rette stumbled around and not only snapped her pencil, but scuffed the dirt that she had wished to study. Promptly losing her balance and falling directly onto Bambina in a pressingly dramatic fashion, it didn't take much talent to see that this small group of Marines was quickly falling out of control. Silently seated a close distance away from her fellow marines with a blank expression on her face Margaret merely continued to watch the interactions of the others finding their varied behaviors to be interesting because dispite the looming threat of the current strongest of the Yonko, the Black Widow herself the majority of the assembled marines acted as they normally would with was rather odd to her. Allowing her eyes to wonder casually around the room as various strategies began formulating within her mind as well as calculating the possibility of their succession which she estimated was quite low but that is merely due to her not fully knowing the capabilities all everyone present something she swore she would take notice and document during the battle to futhur ensure which marine she would work nest along with her mind briefly drifting to the image of Middwun before she dragged her focus back to the matter at hand. Idly she wondered if her recent advancement with the would prove helpful with the upcoming battle that she was positive was only a few hours away. Shaking her head slightly and clenching her fist Margaret shook her thoughts free of those negative emotions knowing full well that they were the result of the nervousness that she desperately attempted to bury. Vice Admiral Sol had been standing silent, hearing his colleagues and comrades laying out a plan for the incoming siege. With the use of her Logia, she had compressed her height and mass- normally monumental, far exceeding that of the average giant- in a bundle of plasma as tall as the tallest of the present. Her elemental body was floating just a few palms of the ground; her insights were shining almost as bright as a neon lamp under a completely translucent skin. Despite the infernos that her Devil Fruit could normally unleash, her body surface was just as warm as the ambient, not letting leak a single drop of heat. Given how disgraceful the previous ruckus had been, she needed an immense amount of restraint to not lovely correct her subordinates with a flare or two. Thank God, a single Marine was distancing herself from the noise. Sol recognized Margaret, o young, promising officer, from her fresh face and rigid posture: the young woman was carrying herself with a dignity belying her age and inexperience. Yet Sol saw nervousness behind that composed mask, she could feel the poor girl getting heavier and heavier. That young woman had so much in common with the giant at the beginning of her career: so overwhelmed by the pressure of an enormous burden, but so courageous to stand up despite her fears and doubts. Sol couldn’t help but silently weep proud tears, which translated in two cataracts erupting from her closed eyelids. She floated to Margaret’s without making a sound, then whispered in her ear with a warm, motherly tone. “Relax, young one. Endeavors of this caliber would terrify many rugged veterans. I promise you: we won’t die here. Nor we will allow the Black Widow to win. As long as our minds are focused, and our hearts are firms, our strength will be multiplied by a hundredfold. We are the Marine, the tools of Justice, the bastion of everything good and innocent… sniff… that exists in the world! … sniff… WE. SHALL. PREVAIL!”. Sol’s emotion brought her to cry again; teas pelted on Margaret like she was under a deluge, drenching her uniform. Marco turned towards the loud Vice Admiral. He winced as she sobbed uproariously. He began to take account for everyone here, multiple Vice Admirals. As much was expected if they were to deal with a Yonko Crew. As the woman to his left continued crying, he turned towards her. "Ma'am, are you okay?" he asked. "Why are you crying?" Marco's gesture of kindness threathed to spill forth even more tears from the emotional Vice Admiral, but she managed to keep a bit of composure. She hadn't eaten the Tear-Tear Fruit, she couldn't keep crying forever. "It's really nothing, t-thank you". She said to Marco. "It's just that looking at disciplined, determined and polite Marines like you and Lt. Commander Margaret. fills my heart with heart with pride and joy. I think is a common reaction when an old person sees youngsters keeping a straight and narrow path. It's quite a rare sight, these days". Sol greeted Marco with a friendly gesture and a bright smile. "Are you Captain Marco X. Esposito? My name is Sol, but I am referred as Vice Admiral Natsumi. I am really pleased to meet you and Margaret". She then looked at the mess she made of the junior officer's coat; for the embarassment, she scratched the back of her head. "I... apologize for having tarnished your coat. I shall give you a new one as soon as I can, I promise. Now please, drag back your attention to the meeting. We have been idling far too much from important matters". "Everyone." The Vice Admiral, Ernest spoke. He had attempted to maintain a commanding visage, in these trying times, as the highest ranked Marine, he had to maintain a level of authority over his subordinates. This was made especially clear with his encounter with Admiral Fuyuki and Kurama. They commanded a level of respect that was frightening, to say the very least. "I understand we are all a bit on edge, but that's precisely why we need to discuss our tactics. We have twenty-four hours to protect this place from being fully conquered. We need to find key targets to protect on this island. Captain Gabaldon, what are the most important parts of El Dorado that secure our control over it? We have very little time before an attack reaches these shores." "I agree." Solomon responded, directing his words at Ernest. Reaching over to grab Nez by the collar, he lifted her from the ground. "Now is not the time for playing and laughter. If you aren't here, with the intentions of possibly losing your life for the sake of the World," He spun Nez around so that she'd face him directly in his eyes. "Then leave, now." "Failure is not an option and if you feel as though I do not possess the traits necessary to lead this defense, then step forward and test it yourselves." Solomon let there be a moment of silence, still locking his eyes on Nez. For a moment, it would feel as though Nez could feel Solomon's presence being projected over her. Opening his palm, he allowed Nez to fall back to the ground and fixed his sights onto Guy. "As stated, could you share with us the location of the most important parts of El Dorado. We will head to those locations and split into groups, to guard them accordingly." That entire time, Commander Braxton seemed to have kept a level head. The entire time, he had his sights locked onto Solomon, as though he'd been admiring him. After all, the Commodore was his elder brother. It had been quite some time since they'd seen each other, about a year to be exact, but he decided to remain quiet and simply went with the flow of everything. Chief Petty Officier Riz stood firm at his side. Doge squirmed his way through the circle and leaned up against Solomon so that he could whisper into his ear. "Stein has stated he's sending "it"-gr." Removing himself from within the circle, Doge walked back inside of the Marine base. Bambina felt no ill at Nez falling into him, and merely shrugged it off as he looked at Solomon, "Dun' worry on this, mah' boy!" A smile was thrown his way, "Much like Ernie here has said, we 'eed to checka' on our tactics!" "And boy, by li'l time, did'ja mean now?" Bambina crossed his arms, his mouth thin, as his haki felt the absurd size of the auras outside of El Dorado, "They 'ready out 'ere, y'all." He pointed to a certain direction, which certainly led to one of the island's chores, he knew they weren't exactly on land, but, even then. "Since some of us're goin' to the frontlines 'nyway, follow me the good ones, BAHAHAHA!!" Bambina screamed, eyes widening as he ran towards where he had previously pointed at. "I've got some good ole' plan!" They would counter these Pirates before they even begun their attack for sure. Bambina, Bambina… her savior’s passion and bravado was shining through as awe-inspiring as the day she rescued him. Only her concerns to not flood the presents in a passionate cry prevented the vice admiral to weep even more. Her overflowing emotion had to be reined back a bit, if for the sake of Justice. “Ernest-san, Bambina-san… just tell where and when I should position myself”. She suggested. “As many of you may remember, I am especially talented in handling mass scale assault because of my size and Logia power. My best position might be on the frontline docks, where I can endure and respond to the enemy fire at its strongest. Do you or Solomon suggest a different strategy”. Solomon placed his hand on his chin, entering a state of thinking. "No, no. Sol, standing at the frontlines may prove detrimental. Placing all of our firepower at the front is too direct and obvious. But then again..." He looked at Sol up and down, having mental images of MuuMuu as he did. "She doesn't look like she possesses the same physical strength as MuuMuu. Would it be best to have her position at the center of the city? Or, let her position herself at the dock, where she could easily be tipped into the sea? Even then, if Legs appears at the dock, she'll have the only size comparison to take her on." Solomon's brows lifted as though he'd finally reached a conclusion "Sol, you hang back here." Solomon's body began to bubble and a silver liquid grew from his side. Soon it'd formed into a metal pillar, then formed itself into a perfect copy of Solomon, even the colors he wore. The clone followed behind Bambina headed for the bay. "Nez, Sol, and Margeret head for the city. You all are the Protectors of El Dorado. All civilians lives are placed in your hands, protect them at all costs. Rette, Ernest, and Marco head to the bay with Bambina. You all are the "Border Barriers", whoever you meet at the borders are to be kept there. You will not allow a single one of them to breach through. Braxton, Riz, and myself will be guided to the mines where we will wait for anyone there. We are the "Mine Platoon, our goal is to keep whoever comes down trapped. Down there, I'll have the geographical advantage in one way or another." El Dorado Terror The group of commanders Legs brought along remained in their introductory formation. Legs gave off a simple head not and Jack made his way towards the front of the ship, looking over the railing only to meet his eyes with the sight that was El Dorado, the City of Gold. Before he did anything else, he closed his eyes and briefly went back to think about Zack and what he'd been possibly doing. "Wait for us, Zack." He thought to himself before preparing for the events about to take place. After splitting his lips apart, the same mist from the two instances earlier showed itself again. This time, it was much thicker and wider in size. The pores of his skin began to open up and as they did, released a fog just like the one leaking from his mouth. Through mental control, the mist lifted from his body and traveled in front of the ship. "Cold Front." Those words were like a trigger, increasing the size of the fog in an instant, floating out in the open space in front of the ship. "It's getting a little chilly out here. Cool moves as always Jack." Thatch laughed as he stepped up to the edge of the ship. He extended a hand as a mass of colorless gas blasted from his body, mixing with the mist. It was a poison he had created to specifically benefit from the existence of Legs. It was poison that caused anyone who inhaled it to become deathly afraid of spiders, their brains changed forever to cause them to panic at the mere mention of them. It threw islands into chaos at the mere mention of a spider and with Legs taking the form of a giant one it could cause heart attacks in some with ease. This was the deadly concoction that the mist was now teeming with. "Erin you're up." Thatch laughed as he stared ahead through the fog, licking his lips. "I'm on it." Erin replied from above the two. He had been cooling the air in front of the ship as well, helping to stir up a massive blizzard before them. Then with glance the blizzard whipped itself into a frenzy as it grew and began to float forwards towards the island at quite a fast pace. The marines on land would see a wall of mist coming, as tall and wide as the island itself. "So how many of em do you think'll freeze to death?" Erin spoke, grinning at their work. “If they’re worth anything, none of them,” Legs replied seriously, stepping forward to the edge of her ship as the tsunami of mist, and poison surged across the surface of the ocean, threatening the entirety of the island. Erin, with minimal effort, had accelerated the winds beyond tropical and hurricane level speeds, lifting with it torrents of water that traveled alongside it. El Dorado was threatened with a three-wave attack. The mist that threatened frostbite, the poison that threatened their minds, and the gale force winds that conjured itself into a hurricane. Such was the strength of the Black Widow Pirates; their ability to craft techniques capable of disasters, on par with nature itself was the reason that Legs had named them after Gods themselves, to demonstrate their divine powers, and will. All of this, and Legs herself have even yet to lift a finger. Legs had speculated that the mist would reach the islands within a minute, and rampage across it within less than five, leaving the marines only six minutes to deal with the encroaching problem. “Once our attack hits, since we aren’t constantly generating this stuff, I predict it’ll run out within five minutes, of arriving. That means, we’ll hit the shore within ten minutes of right now, and while they are weakened from defending themselves against our storm, we will strike. However, we won’t all hit the same side,” Legs informed, “In fact, we’ll be splitting up. I’m not sure if you guys can feel their presence, but I can. They aren’t all together, and to ensure that we penetrate the island and steal its gold, I’m sending us into different entry points.” She turned to face her commanders. “Thatch, Erin, and Jack Frost, you three will head directly into the city of El Dorado from the sky. Erin, levitate you both far into the clouds, and drop down upon them. Use your Kenbunshoku to pinpoint any survivors.” “Indiana, and Annabeth, you will all accompany Erin into the sky, but instead you will be dropped off near the mines if possible, Erin. Go straight into the mines and begin extracting the gold. Don’t be peaceful with it. Annabeth can always repair it later with her devil fruit.” Legs smiled deeply. “I’m going for the coast directly, where I sense the brute of the forces….I’ll take them on myself!!” With nothing else to answer, Indiana nodded and smiled at Legs, clutching his robes. If anything, he would be capable of using his Kenbunshoku to surveil their trip to the mine, and respond to any attack accordingly, alongside Annabeth, he hoped. Rising his left hand, Indiana made it shake slightly, as he could be sending a variety of signals to search for the gold, aside from his own Haki. "Remember my advice, lads." Indiana winked one last time at some of his companions, before Erin drifted off with him and Annabeth. The Muggy Coast Having felt these conglomerates of many auras, Bambina had quickly appeared on the outskirts of the island, waiting for any other Marine companion to come up at him. Marco made his way next to Bambina. He had stayed silent during the whole 'reunion', but he decided to take initiative. He looked forward at the wall of ice. "What's the plan?" he asked no one in specific. "We could pierce through the ice somehow." "Apologies for the delay." Ernest appeared rapidly, seemingly after using Soru to catch up with his fellow Marines. Despite his old age, Bambina was as fast as ever. "...We are faced with a predicament, indeed." Ernest looked upon the natural disaster that threatened to consume them. "While someone like the Admirals would be able to deal with this by themselves, I unfortunately do not possess that level of power naturally." Ernest spoke with a modicum of regret, but he did not hold to that lingering feeling for long. His eyes glowed red with Kenbunshoku Haki, and his pupils transformed to reveal a data-scanning apparatus. If he could not beat this threat by himself, then it was a simple matter of relying on his comrades. "Bambina-sensei, Captain Marco." Ernest referred to both of his comrades, as he began to rapidly heat his own body to somewhat unstable degrees. "We have to defeat this onslaught before us in one attack. I have analyzed its properties and its relative strength, and I believe we can take this by combining our forces." Ernest stated to his comrades, hopefully riling them up to action. "Bambina-sensei, I require the strongest Rankyaku that you can possibly create. Captain Marco, you will need a particularly powerful, rotating bullet. Bambina-sensei needs to wrap his Rankyaku around the bullet, and I will then empower the wind with scalding flames. When this bullet collides with the strength of this disaster, the explosive heat and impact of the bullet should cause it to prematurely explode, leaving us safe from their primary onslaught." Although Ernest had confidently analyzed the situation and come up with a counter-attack, there was a doubt plaguing him. Was he able to lead his allies to victory? Like those proud Admirals did? At the back of his mind, these thoughts plagued him, but he did his best to put them aside and focus on the fight. Marco nodded. As always, Vice Admiral Ernest never failed to amaze Marco with his abilities. A calculated assault, and the theory behind everything made sense. It was more than likely that their attack would succeed. He pulled out one of his Glock's, aiming it at a strangely tilted angle. "I'm presuming the bigger the better, so I can fire off a larger bullet." he began. "It'll take some time for me to create it though. Once I fire it, it'll expand to its full size, so let me know once you guys are ready." This was the Ernest Bambina knew, always doubting himself- No, he had oceans of humility within him. Even with such leadership, charisma, and fighting skill... Ernest still failed to acknowledge his full worth. Yet, Bambina agreed, Ernest had to strive for more and more. Alongside them was Marco, who had been as excited as ever. If he had an smile on his face, then, Bambina's smile grew even more when Ernest talked to him, "Les' dance, boys!!!" He yelled, teeth showing alongside all his wrinkles. With a jump, Bambina found himself in mid-air, not so high from where the group stood, and rotated his own body, "HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" His form vanished within the spiral as tidal sounds filled the atmosphere. He needed nothing more than Ernest's explanation of it to know what to do. With the usage of Geppo and Soru, through kicking the air several times within an instant and generating small bursts, Bambina managed to move everywhere through the place. It was as if he had briefly solid after-images. And these kicks of his, all were meant to send more and more air towards where he first jumped, with him still rotating there. As his original form spun violently, Bambina guided the air along with him, generating a cocoon-like Rankyaku around his very being. Dust flew around the coast and the waves got pushed by Bambina's final rotation, he yelled within it, "AT YER' SIGNAL!" As they were to be done, Bambina had been aiming accurately at the point they set, the point where his attack would merge with Ernest's flames and boost Marco's bullet. "Rankyaku: MAITSUKI!!!" With them doing their part, Bambina's form was back where it was, his leg pushed forward as a moon shaped energy slash came from it. Several shockwaves, in the form of rings, appeared from behind him and the sea waves erupted. This same moon slash was seemingly peeled from the outside in, as it travelled towards Ernest, forming itself into a spiral slice. Its point travelled at the center, while the tail swung itself around, giving it a rather wide body. "FIRE IN THE HOLE!" Marco yelled, releasing his bullet. As he had mentioned before, it emerged as the size of a regular bullet, but suddenly increased in size, travelling at the same speed as it normally would. In fact, Marco had increased the speed of it as well. As such, despite being shot at an awkward angle, it shifted into a straight path. The bullet soared forwards at blitzing speeds. "HAAAAAH!!!!" Ernest exclaimed with all his might, releasing a burst of flames so hot that the heat radiated in the air. He reigned in the flames, spiraling them inwards into a rotating sphere that he shot towards Marco's fired bullet wrapped in Bambina's Rankyaku. "Combination Attack: Howling Hell Hunting!" Ernest shouted the impromptu attack name, believing it deserved one. The howling bullet soon had a flaming tornado spiraling around it, moving at such velocities that the ocean beneath it began to evaporate in response. It had soon collided with the oncoming poisonous mist, heating up the cold winds with such speed that a tremendous explosion ensued. The sea in the immediate vicinity began to evaporate, and the explosion caused such a powerful response that the waves had began to roar and rumble, interrupting the path of the ships sailing upon it. "The first threat has been neutralized, but now the true battle begins." Ernest spoke robotically, reducing his body temperature to stable levels. Legs’ stood alone upon the deck of her ship as the violent waves rock the Justice side to side in place. “It seems it’s time for me to make my move,” she muttered quietly to herself, moving to the edge of the ship. From her back, Legs’ pulled a sword large enough to reach her chest, a great black sword easily fifteen feet in length; a gift awarded to her by Kogane while visiting her at the red line. It was a remarkably durable sword, one crafted in the image of the Black blade, , yet crafted with metals and materials far more advanced. Legs stepped forward with her left foot, pivoting it in front of her body as she swung the blade with her right hand towards the island itself, commanding with it a force that moved the winds themselves. With her iconic strength, the air was compressed into a slash befitting its own class. So much that when it escaped the edge of her sword, it moved with such strength that it split the burning seas into two walls of ferocious ripples, leaving but a single line of hearth in the middle. Without haste, Legs dropped from her ship along the path of sand, and steadily approached the island, putting her sword back onto its holster that rested upon her back. “Listen to me marines!” her voice echoed throughout the world, “in the divine text of countries forgotten by most men, there is a legend that speaks of a man who liberated his own people and paved a new path for them in the future, quite literally by allowing them to escape their enslavement by splitting the ocean itself so that they could walk across.” Each stride that she took was slow in action, in that she only took two strides in the time that it would take a normal man to take four or five. Yet, her size dictated that she still covered the same amount of land, for each stride she took was equivalent to three or four people’s worth. “This man channeled the will of the gods themselves, forged their scriptures, committed their miracles. Are you beginning to understand now? Why I have named my crew after gods themselves?” Legs inquired rhetorically, “I warn you to back away from this fight, to leave this island via the path I have crafted for you. This is my chance to offer you salvation!” Legs’ face tickled into a smirk. “But, you may serve as the guardians to protect this so called free world if you desire. However, take heed…” her smile intensified, “there will only be victory in strength!” Ernest stood there, witnessing the actions of the Black Widow and hearing her words. For a moment, it felt like he was alone once more. He could remember the words drilled into him as the experiments roared on. "You are the weapon to fight Devil Fruits. Our secret weapon against the Yonko...and any who stand in the way of the World Government." For the longest time, Ernest held pride in these words. He felt as if they granted him strength. But he looked upon the approaching Yonko, and his confidence was all but stripped away. "W-what should I do...?" Ernest cried to himself in his thoughts. His entire body was telling him to run away, as he attempted to analyze the level of his opponent's power and failed to do so. Looking around, he soon saw the figures of Marco and Bambina. He also saw the island he had to protect. Ernest snapped out of it. No matter the difference between them, Ernest could not run away from his duty. "..." Ernest gulped, finding it difficult to form words. But he finally spoke. "B-BLACK WIDOW!" Ernest shouted, grabbing her attention. "We, the Marines, do not care for the power of the gods! The gods are but single entities that wield the power to change the world! But we, the Marines, do not back down to your power! For we are people! And united, we will protect our world from your conquest, and mold it into the ideal world for all!" Ernest declared his intentions, loud and clear. And he looked upon his fellow Marines, hoping he made the right choice. Marco nodded as the Vice Admiral continued speaking. His words were reassuring, and he was right. If the power of the Gods was to challenge them, they would challenge those powers. Alone, each Marine may have been nothing compared to these Pirates. But together, unified? The Marines stood a chance, and they wouldn't go down easily. They had no choice, but to win. All the time that Legs directed words at all of them, Bambina felt as if he would be blown away, and yet, he still smiled. He wondered if it was to reassure himself, or maybe the others alongside him. "Look at the size of tha' thing!!!" Even so, no matter how many times Bambina saw Legs in action, excitement always filled his being, she- she walked through the sea itself. Most Devil Fruit users just let themselves be dominated by it. "IT IS AS ERNIE-BOY HERE SAYS!" Bambina approached the behind of Ernest, a smile into his expression. A small amount of aura had focused on the tip of his right index finger, as he pushed it into Ernest's back, gently yet fast enough to make his arm blurr. This bit of aura had been meshed with the calmness Bambina was having, redirecting this feeling through his use of Life Return and Kami-e. Bambina had always told Ernest, "Y'got attitude, boy!", "Yer' first obstacle is tah' stop limitin' yourself!" His smile widened at the memories, "Before your body, improve your mind!" And that was why, he had just lent some of his own focus, some of his own patience to Ernest. He needed it, and Bambina had lived and fought alongside him for too much to not know. "If yer' really strong, mah' boy... you'll make tis' strength yours!" Bambina thought, as he focused back on real life and glanced ownards at Legs. If he died here, at least he hoped that Ernest and Marco carried on, should one survive a battle such as this one, wanted it or not, they would surely grow strong. Bambina had taken a stance, positioning his limbs, all the while his hands blurred over his being, striking several spots. Skin reddening by the second, Bambina smiled as his muscles flexed out way more than they normally would, and his hair flared up slightly. His pupils vanished, yet, Bambina still retained his mind, for, with liberating the toughest parts of his muscles with Life Return, he had just strengthened his defenses, though not by a large margin in order to preserve his speed. “Undoubtedly, mankind’s greatest attribute is their ability to derive strength from hope,” Legs begun, speeding up her stride slightly with each word until she was a blur of movement, an afterimage left behind to be consumed by the walls of the sea that collapsed back into place upon her departure. There, she stood upon the beach itself, reappearing before the three marines that sat there in challenge: hesitant, but ready. “Which is why I will do all in my power to crush that hope….and I’m going to start with the most hopeful of you all,” Legs said, observing the enemy, before pointing directly towards Bambina himself. “You.” She blinked from her place, reappearing directly in front of Bambina himself; there was no hesitation between her statement and her movement, the only indication of her motion being a trail of sand left behind by her ninjutsu: Body Flicker Technique, and ancient ninjutsu revolving around sliding from place to place to achieve superhuman motion, while retaining stealth. Lifting her arm into the air, she launched it forward not with the muscles themselves, but using her ability to control her blood flow—like all spiders—accelerating it to the point that her limb exploded forward like a cannon, sparing her the necessary “wind up” time to attack, and instantly allowing her to do so upon arriving. As her arm exploded towards Bambina, the air itself responded, screeching in agony as the speed of her fist churned it into action, generating a vicious draft that acted in conjunction with her limbs, pushing the sands of the beaches away with its spite. The City of Gold On the top of a clock tower in the middle of the city, Nez stood with a small cage that would normally be seen carrying a small pet of some sort. However, when Nez bent down and unlatched the crate, an assortment of slithered out until there were at least ten visible on the clocktower's edge. They lined up single file and Nez went down the line pressing a single button on each of the individual shells. As she did on each one, two miniature wings as well as a small booster shot out from the shell, and the snails quickly became airborne as their jets set off. In her hand, Nez held a small tracking device that showed the movements of her snails whilst simeltaneously relaying information. "Go my Tsu Tsu Mushi, go!" The woman cheered happily as she watched her inventions soar into the distance. Atop another building not to far from the clocktower Margaret sat overlooking the various points that could be utilized as vantage, ambush and meeting points, having already established her various traps within the vicinity perfectly acceptable with her Devil Fruit abilities. Glancing up towards the clocktower where she knew one of her partners for this assignment was currently stationed she used the abilities of her fruit to attempt to sense the bio electrical signal all life forms possesses however upon finding nonshe didn’t recognize she returned her focus to watching all possible entrances and exits for any sign of the Black Widows. Despite not being at the top of any tower, Sol probably enjoyed the best sight simply by returning to her normal size. Just by standing on her two feet she soared above the highest edifice, painting with her shadow a dark trail which cloaked the city thorough and lambed the sea below. Her massive size meant a massive reach for her senses, a gift she was entrusted with by her lineage; even by that standards, she always thought her eyes of being particularly blessed in that regard. Sol's eyes were not very pleasing- every-time she stared at a mirror, the monstrous pupils of two drake was the first thing peeking out- but useful for locating things far and wide, and grasping objects big and small. Especially small things, as she could recall in delight the faces of her family and friends from the years of youth when she still used to loom over everyone and everything and didn't have a Logia which helped her to shrink down to human sizes. Sol enjoyed even greater reaches with her Kenboshoku, which compensated with the deficiencies of her colleagues in that department. Her aura formed a dome stretching miles above her, an invisible aura which enveloped the island and sea and sky above and around her. No living thing would have passed that barrier with her not noticing it. Certainly not any of those of vile pirates, whose mere presence was a big, ugly stain under her sight. The Big Spider Bitch was stepping on the fray, a bit after her launching strike had been thwarted by the combined efforts of Bambina, Ernest and Marco, and she had cried her fair rivers of tears on the thankfully already evacuated scene. Getting her so soon did not just trouble the giant: it filled her with worry and rage, so much so that coronas of plasma glimmered and streamed with each of her portentous breaths. Sol couldn't ask for anything but go, fight with her hero and incinerate that filth on her own. Only her strong sense of disciple refrained the giant for rushing to the shores and deal with Legs herself: the Spider's cronies could potentially strike everywhere, and she dared not to abandon her comrades where they needed the most. Bambina and Ernest were seasoned veterans with immense skills and tons of experience: Peg Nez and Margaret, with all their considerable talent, were not. And the time of need was maybe closer when it needed to be: some fainting signals were bleeping on Sol’s radar far away from El Dorado above the clouds surrounding the unfunnily ironic name of Justice. It wasn’t much: given Sol’s own proficiency with the art, whoever was hovering above had a very fine control over their aura and killer intent. Not fine enough to entire presence, though. That would be their end. Vast currents of plasma balled around her hand, piling up more and more till they formed a dragon head with jagged fangs and horns like that of a deer. Its grimace radiated fury as much as light and power, as if dozens of pharoses had concentrated their luminosity in a single point. Then she added her Bosushoku Haki on the mix to pack even more of a wallop. The sight was almost oxymoronic: the dragon had been tinged in black ichor, it was somewhat shining even brighter than before. “Peg Nez, Margaret, please, take on your protective sunglasses! I wouldn't never forgive myself if your eyes were scarred by so much light… sniff…” She shouted, while crying just a bit at the thought her subordinates were to suffer anything by her hand, if just potentially. She took a step back, her gargantuan legs firm and balanced. With a thrust, she launched her dragon. “Receive due justice! Great Qirin Punch!” The beast once the size of Sol’s arms swelled in size to a tremendous degree: a gargantuan Chinese dragon made of plasma suddenly appeared on the battlefield, large enough to gulp houses as they were candies. The dragon's mounth was wide open; rivulets of plasma were raining from its scale, too small to harm the inflict any harm to the city below. In the span of an heartbeat, the fiery beast would reach and gulp the Black Widow Pirates in a mortal furnace, bearing the frightening speed and scorching heat of solar wind itself. "Looks like we're up and running!" Nez announced, as though there was anyone around her. With the small control pad that she held in her hand, she ordered her Tsu Tsu Mushi to disperse throughout the city with their speakers activated. She then held the pad up to her mouth and pressed a button that broadcast her voice through each of the snails. "Citizens of El Dorado! My name is Peg Nez, and I am the Science Captain of the Marine forces. The Marines, by the order of the World Government, order a mandatory evacuation of the city limits immediately! Please proceed in an orderly fashion to the south gates and recede into safety as soon as possible!" ---- High above the island Thatch and Jack floated beside Erin. The three of them using their Kenbunshoku haki to scan the island. Due to his devil fruit Erin could hear the conversations between them quite easily. "Seems that one's a scientist some machines." Erin stated only to be cut off by Thatch. "Yeah you're out of the loop, I know her. We make it our business to know Marines as subordinates of Legs. Those two are Peg Nez, a marine science captain who's a disgrace to the profession and there's Marishi Sol, user of the Pura Pura no Mi. She's a Vice-Admiral so she can actually do something. Don't know the third one though, probably not big out here yet. Granted most of this shouldn't take long." Thatch spoke. "Jack, Erin freeze the entire town solid, the colder the better." With that Thatch grabbed a device from his pocket and began tinkering with it. Erin hovered above the two, four balls floating behind him. "You got it." Erin stated. Even from far above the island he could still see the whole town, his eyesight never failed him. He spotted the three and some sort of glowing ball in Sol's hand, though its light would not reach them here. He looked down at the city, filled with sinners and lovers of the government, it made him sick. The very air around the marines and the entire town would begin to shiver and the air temperature began to severely drop. The air became thick and heavy as it became harder to breathe. "Jack help me make this place cease to exist." Erin yelled. "Tch," Jack barked, "Legs trusts you, I do not. Therefore, do not command me as though you're one of us. Otherwise, El Dorado won't be the only thing I turn into the Arctic." As Jack spoke, a cold fog slithered from his mouth and from his body, just like when they were back on the ship. At the instant release, both Jack and Erin, despite being above it would still be able to feel the difference between then and now. While on the ship, Jack was forced to have his temperatures at a tolerable level for his captain, but out in the city where she'd been nowhere to be found, he could lower his temperates to levels he'd like. The fog would begin the travel below, where it's capabilities would truly begin to show. At the moment it'd make contact with any portion of the city below, said contacted thing or being would become instantly froze. The highest building, the clock tower, would be the first to suffer its unavoidable fate. And Nez, who'd decided to make its peak her resting place, would too be frozen had she not made haste. Even then, she'd not be able to fully evade the mist take how high she'd been up. He truly lived up to his alias, Sub-Zero. It wouldn't take long for the mist to soon hit the city and meet with its citizens, freezing hundreds of people in an instant. Sol seemed to have found a way to counter Jack's cold front, granted the heat generating dragon she'd created. But even that had its limits, as she'd soon find out. Underground Mine Finally, the underground team had reached the mine. Solomon's eyes sparkled as they came into immediate contact with all the gold around. He looked to his left, there was gold. To his right, there was gold. Then in the distance, even more than before. The last time he'd seen that much gold in a single spot, was back when he'd been living in Mariejois with his father. He walked over to the wall of gold and placed his hand on it. As he pulled away from it, the gold seemed to have stuck to his palm in a jelly-like state. Bring his palm to his mouth, he dropped the jelly gold into his mouth and sucked it up as though it was a suffer plate of spaghetti. Normally eating gold, was like inhumane and most certainly not something you'd see every day. Yet, Solomon stood here talking palms of it into his mouth as if it were a normal meal. Had he been so in tune with being a World Noble, that he'd grown fond of the luxury that is gold that he wanted to be one with it? He turned to Braxton who'd been standing not too far away from him. "Seems they haven't found the mine yet. It's been some time, how's ma?" Braxton folded his arms and leaned against the mine's wall, closed his eyes then lowered his head. "I haven't been talking to her much after joining the Marines myself, but last I heard she was fine. The Yggdrasil Kingdom is as prosperous as ever. We haven't heard from you since your promotion to Commodore." "I know, I know. After the promotion, Fleet-Admiral Byakko stationed me on Cape Island. I was there about a year, driving off pirates. Haven't even had much time to talk to dad either." Solomon reached for the wall again, pulling on more of the gold and smashed it into his arm. "Even then, that's not much of an excuse." There was a moment of silence before Braxton had finally chosen to break it. "Yeah, she'd been asking me if I'd heard from you at any point during my time in the Marines. I just kept telling her you were busy It's been a year since you'd heard from her and five more since you'd seen her." Solomon quickly lifted his head, looking to the ceiling above. "Something's coming." He stated. ---- Outside the mines Erin lowered Annabeth and Indiana to the ground. "Alright you two good luck. Mine could have some stragglers but you should be fine." He quickly tossed a canister to Annabeth. "Thatch said to keep that on you, don't know why but good luck with whatever it is." Erin spoke as he shot back into the sky, disappearing from view. Landing swiftly with both feet and his knees bent, Indiana cleaned some dirt from his clothes and shot a thumbs-up at Erin. After he had been gone, Indiana released a sigh he didn't know he was holding. "Cap'n knows what she's doing, she knows, she knows..." Indiana said, though, it seemed to be more to himself, as he took out a small notebook from his jacket's pocket. The notebook contained a half-detailed map, which was actually a separate paper from the other pages. Indiana turned at Annabeth, "I had found this unfinished map from the Libraries in Wano... it would serve to guide us," He looked ahead, eyes narrowing as a sweat went down his face, "But, I'm sure you can feel that our opponents are up ahead." Vines appeared from his shoulders and his legs, some of them hovering slightly above the ground. Anna landed on the ground next, a small crunch emitting as her feet pressed against the floor. Catching the canister shortly after it was tossed, the woman smiled to herself before putting it away. She turned to a mumbling Indiana who was busy reassuring himself. "Have some confidence Indy, this is Legs that we're talking about here. There's a reason why she's a Yonko," she responded before straightening. The woman began walking forward before nodding. "Of course they are. I would have been surprised and disappointed if no adversaries were here. Though it would have made the logistics easier..oh well. Let's see what surprises they have in store." With that, she entered the mouth of the mine. To Anne's dismay, upon entering, she'd instantly be met by Solomon, Braxton, and Riz. Braxton continued his same pose from earlier, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed and head down. Yet at the same time, he remained completely aware of his surroundings granted his Kenbunshoku Haki. "Draco D. Indiana and... possibly his student." Solomon joked, despite right now not being the time for that. It seemed, just a thirty minutes ago he'd been flopping between his plans and now he stood in the mine confident enough to be making jokes. "I could smell you before you even got here, old man." Solomon placed his left foot out in front then brought it back and places his right one out. He brought his right foot back then brought out his left. He continued this pattern the entire time and as he did, he swung his arms out and twisted his body. To those around, he'd appear as though he'd been dancing, but there was much more to it. This was Solomon's unique fighting style: Capoeira. "Braxton, you worry about the girl." Solomon took and deep breath between his movements and each time he brought his foot back, he exhaled. His body became cloaked in a liquid. "I apologize for not being able to sit down and learn the details of the situation, Indiana. But you're here in 's treasure grove and I can't let you just waltz in here like that. So please, Indiana, have this dance with me." Braxton pushed himself from the wall, he'd finally lifted his head after all that time of being silent. The gaze of his blood red eyes, pierced into the soul of Annabeth whether she knew it or not. He wagged his finger at Riz, basically signaling him to not move, justifying that he could handle this on his own. "Fine then." Riz responded, throwing his hand up heading deeper into the tunnel and disappearing into the shadows. Eyes perking up, Indiana smiled at Solomon, "It seems your Observation is keen, lad." He mused, despite being faced with three marines, and not three he hadn't heard about. There was almost nothing he hadn't heard about. "Who would think that you all would be here so soon," Indiana opened his arms, hands gesturing, he knew Solomon wasn't just like much of the other Commodores. "Worry not," He replied simply, a frown into his face as it observed Solomon's movements, "I see, I see." Indiana's eyes shone red and all of a sudden, various vines burst from the ground, since they had travelled through his legs earlier. These vines, however, appeared more around the figure of Riz, wrapping themselves as a circle around him, "Don't go, lad, that'd be troublesome." Indiana smiled as the appendages supposedly managed to cage Riz in. Even so, he had not taken his eyes off Solomon, and summoned several thorny vines around both of his hands. "I wonder how this exotic dance of yours-" While his eyes were still red, the vines formed themselves into gloves around his hands, "-Will fare against this." With almost no preparation time, Indiana had started a devastating chain of punches against Solomon, his arms moving so fast they seemed to be many. "Bain Bain no GATLING!!" Due to the extension of these vines, Indiana had an even large range, almost as if his arms were stretching. Indeed she would be disappointed to find not one, but three Marines waiting. She had anticipated company, and was both pleasantly surprised and mildly annoyed to see they were high ranking Marines. It appeared things would take longer than expected. Annabeth stared at the man in question as he rose from the wall to meet her gaze. "My, my what chilling eyes you have," was her response as she moved forward. Her pace was unhurried yet focused, ignoring Solomon's belittling and teasing nature. Nevertheless, she remained aware of Indiana going on the offensive. "Let's get started shall we? Neither of us have all day." Jungle Metal Solomon continued his dancing movements, swaying and weaving with each movement he made. It wasn't long before Indiana had made his first move. To post, Indiana would appear as though he'd grown more hands, but Solomon was no simple fool. He'd trained under one of the greatest martial artists in their era and there was nearly nothing he hadn't seen before. Fast punches that appeared as though one would have magically grown more arms, Kurama had displayed this plenty of times. It was through his trained eyes and mastery over Kenbunshoku Haki, that he'd be able to follow Indiana's owns hands easily. Again, still in the motion of his unique Capoeira fighting style, he was able to dodge Indiana's attacks with no sweat. Continuing to follow the man's hands through his haki, Solomon held his forearms up to his side and at the exact moment of his exhale he'd pushed his forearms out to break Indiana's attack and possibly even his posture granted the force placed into the push. A trick of attacking based on the breathes one takes, stolen straight out of Vice-Admiral Grave Eldric's book. All in a single motion, Solomon leaned over to his side, tilting his body as though he possessed no backbone or spine and landing on the palm of his hand assuming a handstand position, simply exhibiting the immense amount of control over his body he possessed. Normally the human body would be too much for one to lift with a single hand or even maintain balanced on, but Solomon with his intense training could do so without breaking a sweat. Especially since it was a part of his unique fighting style. With his legs now over the rest of his body, he kicked, unleashing a blade of compressed wind which hurled itself towards Indiana; Rankyaku. Riz on the other hand, while going along his path would find himself caught by Indiana's trap. Unlike Solomon and Braxton who'd prepared themselves for this, Riz was much more carefree and that trait led to his ultimate capture. "Damn." He mumbled under his breath, as upon capture the thorns of the vines would cut into his skin creating wounds small, but big enough to allow blood to leak out. "Sorry, Indiana-bi." Riz spoke, tightening his fist so that the thorns would sink deeper into his skin causing more blood to leak out. "But this is my thing..." Riz's blood trail began to change. Rather than fall down due to gravity and positioning, it began to slide upwards gathering together in multiple spots all over his body. The blood began to take on a form, solidifying into miniatures blades all over his body, then extending outwards to cut up the vines attempting to free himself. The workings of Riz's unusual power, the Chi Chi no Mi. A paramecia devil fruit, giving one the ability to control and solidify their blood in a matter of useful ways in combat. The Doc's Call Choosing to ignore her words, Braxton felt that engaging in battles was all he needed to do. Talking with the opponent wasn't his style, it was moreso something his elder brother Solomon enjoyed. In fact, the general idea of Solomon taking on Indiana as opposed to Annabeth caught the commander off guard. Solomon was usually the type to try and hit on any girl, so long as her face and figure matched his standards. But now he chose to opt for the man over the woman. Had he realized that on the battlefront, lust was just an obstacle to obscure his sight? Regardless, Braxton didn't dwell on it for too long. He had other things on his mind.. Things much more important than Solomon or any of his stupid fantasies. The mine would suddenly become cold, yet no one had any idea of what had been going on. Despite showing no physical effects even Solomon was a bit lost, yet kept his head on straight to the opponent he'd been facing. But then, he'd came to the conclusion that it was the power of Jack Frost, member of the Black Widow Pirates who's also accompanied Legs in their attack of El Dorado. Back to the situation at hand, Braxton had held his hand up and pushed against the atmosphere releasing a thrust of compressed air. Had Annabeth decided to be a saint and take his attack, she'd find whatever portion of her body was hit crushed by the force. Category:Berserkchart486 Category:DamonDraco Category:SuBash Category:Ash9876 Category:Dragon Lord Erin Category:EmperorSigma Category:Jakyou Category:Great Achlus Category:Tabor gorilla